Brent Knoll hill and Iron Age fort seen from Brean Down, Burnham on Sea, Somerset. The Somerset Levels farmland was drained in Medieval times.
Brent Knoll hillfort, East Brent, Burnham on Sea, Somerset. Looking SE from Brean Down. The hill looks like an island rising from the flat low lying farmland; the Levels were drained and reclaimed in Medieval times. The Iron Age fort which crowns Brent Knoll is a large univallate hillfort with associated field system. Its entrance is on the East. The site is considered to be Iron Age in origin, although the visible ramparts may be Roman. Large univallate hillforts are also seen as centres of redistribution, both for subsistence products and items produced by craftsmen. The outer terrace, if not original, may be a Dark Age re-fortification, seemingly incomplete. Legends associate the Knoll with King Arthur, and the fort has been claimed as the site of Mons Badonicus. Mons Badonicus or Badon Hill is the unidentified site of a great battle of the Dark battle is thought to have been fought between a force of Britons and a Saxon war band in the late 5th or early 6th century. The Britons' victory halted, the advance of the Saxons into Britain for a century. However, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, by Ad 845 it was the Anglo-Saxons defeating the Danes. Badon is chiefly known today for the supposed involvement of King Arthur. Finds from the excavation include Iron Age pottery, Roman pottery and coins, Roman building material, charcoal and animal bones. May have been a Dark Age signal station in a chain linking Glastonbury Tor & South Cadbury to SE & Dinas Powys nr Cardiff to the NW. In Arthurian legend it was The Mount of Frogs, home to 3 evil giants slain by Sir Ider.
Size: 3785px × 4961px
Location: Brent Knoll, East Brent, Burnham on Sea, Somerset, England, UK
Photo credit: © Jean Williamson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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